Student Yohanis Shay was the reason for the surprise party. Shay was one of 2,400 students in the Denver Public School system to participate in an art/essay contest about Martin Luther King Jr. His essay about discrimination won the contest.

Hancock was unable to be present for the original event due to the Presidential Inauguration. Friday, the mayor walked into Shay's class with ten pizza boxes and surprised all the students.

"Alright, I'm looking for someone. Who's Yohanis? Come here my man. I'm here because of Yohanis," Hancock said as he addressed the class.

Yohanis walked to the front of the class as the students whispered and wondered what was going on.

"This young man wrote an essay, and I understand out of 2,400 essays that were written this man won the contest," Hancock said.

The students clapped for Yohanis and were even more delighted when it was announced he earned everyone some pizza.

Hancock spent about 30 minutes greeting the students and quizzing them about history. He then listened to Yohanis read a little from his winning essay.

"Martin Luther King Jr. and I both have something in common. We both want to make a difference in the world. I want to stop discrimination. I'm tired of seeing kids being discriminated against. I want to make the world an even better place. Discrimination is a threat we can all stop if we ban together to make an impact that can change our world for the better and create a better future for the children of America and the people of today," Shay said.

Shay also earned a $50 savings bond, a certificate, a Nuggets jersey signed by the players, a visit from Nugget Andre Iguodala and a pizza delivered from Hancock.